Going on vacation is dreamy, and good for your brain whatever your budget. But when a single round trip from New York to London releases a literal ton of CO2 into the atmosphere (enough to melt three square meters of Arctic ice), it’s hard to relax and enjoy that free airplane booze without ruminating on it. If you…Read more...

A year without air travel taught me the path to carbon neutral won’t be easy, but...

A year without air travel taught me the path to carbon neutral won’t be easy, but I learned I could inspire others to actWhat is the single thing that you could do that would most reduce your carbon footprint? Take your bike to work rather than your car? Dig up your lawn for a vegetable garden? For me, an academic scientist living and working in Auckland, New Zealand, I reasoned that the most significant thing I could do was to stop flying.In 2017 I flew 84,000km. I made twenty day trips to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. I travelled to the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia to attend conferences and work on joint projects with other scientists. All of this made me accountable for around 19 tonnes of carbon dioxide that year, nearly three times that of the average Kiwi. Continue reading...